NW Houston News

The Texas Attorney General's (AG) office has appealed to the state Supreme Court to overturn an Aug. 15 ruling that temporarily halts the dismantling of the Harris County elections office, it announced in a press release. The appeal comes after District Court Judge Karin Crump's decision blocked the implementation of Senate Bill 1750, a state law aiming to abolish the elections office.

"SB 1750 was signed into law this year after Harris County experienced multiple problems administering its elections, an issue that puts the integrity of Texas elections at risk and can undermine public trust in the political system by endangering the critical guarantee that every vote will be fairly counted," the attorney general's office press release said. "The law eliminates the Elections Administrator position in Harris County—an appointed position—and returns those powers to the Tax Assessor-Collector and the County Clerk, which are elected positions."

The AG's office argues that the law is justified, given Harris County's status as the most populous county in Texas, which amplifies its influence on state elections, and previous administrative challenges.

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee disagreed with the AG's office, saying his team had thoroughly examined historical cases in Texas without finding any precedent for a population-specific provision, a Houston Chronicle news report said. If the law is upheld by the courts, it could set a new legal precedent, he said. "The Texas Constitution’s plain text prohibits this sort of legislative meddling in a single county’s local affairs. Harris County, therefore, requests that this Court declare that SB 1750 violates the Texas Constitution and enjoin state officials from enforcing it," a Harris County court filing said, according to the newspaper.

The court's temporary injunction said disruptions and inefficiencies could arise if the law were to take effect before the planned November election preparations of the Harris County Elections Administrator's Office.

On Tuesday morning, before the ruling, the Harris County Republican Party submitted a petition endorsing SB 1750. In a statement, Harris County GOP Chairman Cindy Siegel said the county government's focus is on secrecy rather than ensuring effective, secure elections. Siegel also criticized the use of taxpayer funds for what she referred to as a baseless legal action against the State, the Chronicle reported.

“SB 1750 rightfully removes the unelected, failed Elections Administrator and returns the responsibility of running elections to two duly elected officials, the Harris County Clerk and Tax Assessor-Collector," the Harris County GOP said in a press release on July 6. "These two individuals were originally voted into office by Harris County voters, mainly with the expectation they would be the ones responsible for running our elections. Democrats on the Commissioners Court stole the will of the voters the second they formed the Elections Administration. Senator Paul Bettencourt and other Republicans in the state legislature have righted that wrong."